


Pandora's Box

by VJuniorVasquez



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28841133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VJuniorVasquez/pseuds/VJuniorVasquez
Summary: According to the Greek Myth, once Pandora’s Box is open, you can’t close it again, and before you know it, all the evils in the world will run rampant on the Earth…Very much like that story, once Ash and Goh’s relationship started to get destroyed, there was nothing either of them could do to save it from the brink of disaster...
Relationships: Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	Pandora's Box

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Still taking commissions!  
> But that doesn't mean I can't fill the AshxGoh tag on my own  
> Enjoy!

**Passion**

Their first fight shouldn't have been that big of a deal...

In all his years of travelling, Ash Ketchum never knew someone who could match his excitement for things, his capacity for running from one side of a city to the other in a matter of minutes, of chasing a Pokemon across countless kilometers without breaking a sweat.

That is, until he met Goh. At the beginning, the boy from Vermillion City seemed like any other regular teenager, he was a decent runner and a very bad climber and Ash blushed when he remembered how he helped him to get to the top of Ivysaur Tower

However, after time passed, Goh’s physical condition improved and now he was able to run as fast as he could, even faster sometimes.

This was one of those times, Goh was excited to catch an Axew and he ran towards the speeding creature as fast as he could, with Ash pleading him to wait for him, Goh didn’t listen and kept running, after a few seconds, his figure vanished from Ash’s sight

“Dammit!” the trainer shouted, kicking a rock next to him

“Pi-Pika” Pikachu, perched on his shoulder, said with a curious expression

Understanding the question, Ash frowned

“I hate when he does that, he just keeps running and he completely forgets I’m with him”

“Pi-Pikachu” the electric Pokemon replied

“Of course I know it’s his dream Pikachu, but I’m his boyfriend, I should…” he doubted for a second, then continued “I should matter as much as his dream”

His buddy patted his head and murmured a few “Pika” and once again, he understood the message

“You’re right buddy, all I have to do is waiting for him” he accepted with a smile, looking at the midday sun

“After all, he shouldn’t take too long, right?”

Pikachu nodded with a smile and both of them decided to lie on the grass and relax for a little while

Sun was setting on the horizon when Goh returned to the clearing, yawning after a long day of catching, Cinderace put his head on his shoulder, obviously tired too and Goh called him back to his pokeball, meanwhile, Sobble was still sleeping on his arms, after petting him on his fin, Goh finally saw Ash, sitting on the grass with his back against him

“Hey…” he said, putting a hand on his cap “Where were you, silly boy?”

“Waiting for you” Ash confessed with a huff

“Huh? Since when?” Goh said, raising an eyebrow

“You mean you don’t even know when we got separated” Ash spat

“Well, I was focused on catching…”

“Like always” Ash interrupted bitterly

“Yes, well, you know me…”

“Of course I do, that’s the only thing you do, you catch and catch and chase and chase and you forget about the rest of the world, including me!”

“Are you mad at me?”

“What gave it away?” Ash commented, crossing his arms

“I’m sorry ok?” Goh said, grabbing Ash’s arms, but the trainer broke the contact and the researcher continued

“I do this all the time Ash, I know it’s not nice, but this is not the first time I left you alone to go catching… Fifteen Pokemon, by the way” he declared proudly

Ash ignored the last part of the comment and denied with his head, Goh bit his lip and added

“Besides, you always do the same, you always let go of my hand to go battle some random trainer”

Ash frowned again and unable to hold his feelings any longer, lashed out:

“It’s the first time you do this since we are a couple! You said you liked me, I said I liked you back, but it seems it’s not enough!”

“Ash… I don’t…”

“I never let go of you since we are together, think about that”

Goh closed his eyes for a moment, realizing his boyfriend was right

“You could have just caught that Axew and return here, but no, you had to keep going, you had to forget about me, you’re so greedy when it comes about catching Pokemon”

Goh considered his options for a moment and finally, without thinking clearly, decided to counter

“I don’t know why this makes you so angry, Ash, you know it’s my dream, you know I have to do this, this is important to me!”

“I wish I was this important to you too…” Ash concluded, walking away

Both boys huffed, unable to understand his partner’s point of view, and they returned to the institute without saying another word, with Pikachu as the only witness of their first argument as a couple…

**Jealousy**

Goh looked out of the plane’s window, trying to ignore the sound of his new companion’s voice

“Imagine this, a Heatran!” the intruder said, with Ash nodding eagerly at every word that came out of his mouth “Under an island not too far from here, obviously, I didn’t catch it”

“Why not?” Goh said, genuinely curious and with a hint of anger “It was too powerful for you?”

“Of course not” Gary Oak quickly replied “Certain Pokemon shouldn’t be caught, or that would create an imbalance in the ecosystem, that’s something you learn almost immediately at the Pokemon Academy”

“You went to the Academy?” Ash questioned, his eyes glimmering with excitement

“Of course! I graduated top of my class!”

“That’s so awesome!” Ash shouted

“Yeah… So awesome…” Goh said, turning away

Gary looked at the boys at his side, one of the first things he knew about Ash after so many tears of not seeing him, was how he was building a relationship with his boyfriend, however, since the moment he started to travel with them two days ago, things have becoming progressively weird, between the three of them

Maybe Ash and Goh needed some time alone, so he got up from his seat and said

“I need to go to the bathroom, and also, make some top-secret calls to Professor Rowan, I’ll be back in a few minutes”

As soon as he was out of his sight, Goh said mockingly:

“Oh Gary, you’re so awesome!”

Ash ignored him

“You’re so cool and strong” the researcher continued “And good-looking, and…”

“I never said that about him”

“You might as well do it; you’ve been drooling all over him these last two days”

“I have not!”

“It’s like you have a crush on that dude…”

“Goh, it’s been years since the last time I saw him, forgive me for being a little excited”

“For being a little crushed, you mean”

“For the last time, I’m not in love with Gary Oak, don’t be such an idiot!”

“Oh, now I’m an idiot for thinking that?”

“You’re acting like one!”

Goh huffed and turned around in his seat, and Ash did the same, looking down to Pikachu, the electric Pokemon replied with an angry face

“I don’t know what his problem is”

“Pika, Pika, chu” Pikachu said, crossing his paws

“What you mean with that? He’s the one acting like an idiot, not me!”

“Pika, Pika-pi!”

“Okay… Maybe he does need some reassurance…”

Ash looked at his boyfriend, still turned away from him; he gently touched his back and whispered

“Goh…”

“Let me sleep, Ash” was all that Goh said

“Fine!” the trainer replied, exasperated

When Gary returned from the bathroom, he stared at the couple, facing away from each other, maybe leaving them alone wasn’t the best idea, but still, he looked at Ash and questioned

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything is flippin’ fantastic” Ash commented, crossing his arms

Gary tried to make conversation about some other topic, while he and Ash did their best to ignore the constant sighing coming from Goh’s seat

Things were definitely not okay

**Turmoil**

They had a few incidents after that

Sometimes, Ash was too focused on his battles to pay attention to Goh’s needs, or he made projects t adventure to some distant places, only for Goh to find an excuse not to go

Some other times, Goh spent too much time looking for Goh on his own, or maybe having to assist to school to pass an important exam, having to leave his boyfriend behind in the process

They would never talk about all those things, thinking that maybe it was best to avoid all of that, before they noticed, the two-year anniversary of their first kiss came and went, and none of them had the time to prepare something, so they thought it was best not to say anything

Goh would often stay awake at night, preparing himself for his exams, missing the contact of Ash’s arms, his words of encouragement, and his head lying on his shoulder…

Ash would find himself alone in the battlefield, no boyfriend cheering for him, shouting at his victories, kissing his forehead after his defeats…

“He has important things to do” they would both say to themselves, referring to the other

Night would fall and they would take shelter in each other’s arms, they would believe things were right despite everything, they would silently say to each other how much they loved those times together

Until the sun would appear on the horizon, and the cycle would repeat again

**Hatred**

Chloe knew very well the mornings at the Institute were never calm, especially not since Ash and Goh started to date and she had to tolerate the smooching and those sweet, almost cringy compliments every single day. However one morning, when she opened the kitchen’s door, she was met with a shouting war. Eevee and Yamper, equally surprised by the scene, covered behind her.

“I’m just saying you should eat slower Ash, or you’ll end up choking”

“Oh please, you’re just mad because I took your muffin, get over it”

“That’s another thing, stop eating my food, you maniac”

“And you stop calling me that, or crazy, or insane, it’s not funny”

“I’m just trying to make you realize you’re doing things wrong!”

“That’s a terrible way to do it!”

“Guys!” Chloe interrupted stomping her foot “Enough already!”

“I’ll be on the Park…” Goh said, walking to the door

However, Ash got up quickly and grabbed him by the arm, stopping him

“You’re not going anywhere until you explain to me why are you doing this”

“Why am I doing what, exactly?”

“Acting so… mad at me!”

“Because it’s not easy dealing with you Ash, everything you do, everything you say, it’s so… I don’t even how to explain it, lately, every time we talk, I got mad at you, and you don’t do anything to fix it!”

“You don’t do anything either!” Ash countered

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about…” Goh explained “You always have to find a way to counter my words, you don’t stop to listen, and I hate that!”

Ash’s lip quivered and he contained his tears, asking

“You hate me?”

“I hate… the way you act, that’s all”

And with that, he left the room, Ash returned to his seat and Chloe approached him with a worried expression

“This is not working… Goh and I, we’re just… not working”

“You just had a discussion, it’s not that big of a deal” Chloe commented

“It’s not the first one”

“Oh… What was about this time?”

“A cupcake, that’s all” Ash blurted

Seeing that his friend didn’t add anything, Ash got up, ready to leave

“We’re not working” he repeated

Chloe sighed and rubbed Ash’s arm, the trainer flinched at the contact and the girl smiled kindly at him, stating

“Look, I don’t know how to help you, but try to think about someone who can, ok Ash? There has to be someone who can aid you with these anger issues you two are having”

Ash looked away

“Do it for Goh” Chloe insisted

The trainer nodded, thinking about a couple who could assist them

**Pain**

“So… Goh and I have been fighting lately” Ash confessed

“What kind of fights, exactly?” Kukui said, raising an eyebrow

“We’ve been hurting each other… with words” the trainer explained “I offered him to come here to see if we could solve anything, but I practically had to drag him, he didn’t want to come”

“He’s mad at you, huh?” the professor asked, looking out of the window

“All the time”

“And how that makes you feel?”

“Mad…” Ash confessed “And as soon as I say something, he lashes out at me, and I respond, and he insists and…”

“And it’s a never-ending cycle” the Professor interrupted

Nodding, Ash commented

“It’s like he’s a completely different person, all traces of that sweet cute boy he used to be are… gone”

Kukui averted his eyes from the window for a moment and looked at Ash

“And what made you think Burnet and I could help you?”

“You two have just a perfect relationship”

The Professor scoffed and Ash looked at him, confused

“We’re far from perfect Ash, we have little discussions every once in a while, and sometimes those turn in some pretty big discussion, you wouldn’t like to be here to see them”

“What do you do then?”

“Well, there’s a few stages, but to give you a shortened version, we fight, one of us goes out for a walk, we talk, we get mad, we sleep in separate bedrooms and when morning comes, we both remember Lei is counting on us, so we try to forget about the whole thing”

When he finished his explanation, Kukui was surprised to see Ash scribbling furiously on a notebook

“I knew you’d help me Professor, now I’ve got an idea!”

“Oh, I see, you finally realized you need to talk with Goh”

“Not that, we need to adopt a baby”

The Professor deadpanned and fixed his eyes on Pikachu, who was awake from his little nap looking at him with a panicked expression, he chuckled and denied with his head

“Ash, you’re fifteen”

“I know, this is a plan for the future”

“You need a plan for the present, not for the future, you need to act as soon as you can” the Professor pressed

“I see…”

Kukui stared outside once more and then nodded towards the window; Ash approached, both of them looked at the entrance of the house, Burnet was there, holding Lei on one of her arms

Goh was also there, crying softly over her legs

“He’s in pain too, isn’t he?” Ash muttered

“I think even if you’re fighting, you two still have a lot of things in common. And that’s a great start” Kukui simply replied

The trainer didn’t respond

**Despair**

“I’m sorry…” Goh said, moving away and feeling Lei’s hand on his face “I got your clothes wet”

“You think I care about that?” Burnet quickly replied

She was about to add something else, but her son interrupted her

“Why were you crying, uncle Goh?”

The researcher smiled fondly at the mention of those words and sighed

“Well, your uncle Ash and I… we’re having some… problems”

“Like those math problems Mom is always doing?”

Goh denied with his head

“No, more like a problem that is just ours and when that problem happens, we usually end up hurting each other…”

“Can you use a band-aid?”

Goh looked at the child with a curious expression

“When I hurt myself, Mom and Dad always put a band-aid on me and they talk to me until the pain goes away” the four year-old kid explained

Goh returned to his spot on Burnet’s legs and the Professor said

“That’s a very good idea, Lei!”

“You aren’t suggesting I put a band-aid on Ash’s heart, do you?”

“No…”

Silence fell for a moment and then, the woman added

“You two need to talk”

Goh sighed, he hated to admit it, but she was right

**Strife**

Once they were back in Kanto, Ash and Goh decided to stop a few miles away from Sakuragi Institute, more specifically, at the clearing where Lugia left them when they first them. Their Pokemon, sensing this was an important matter, decided to give them some space.

Ash tried for a direct approach

“I hate when we fight, Goh”

The researcher fell to the ground and rolled to face his boyfriend

“I don’t like it either, but it seems like is the only thing we do since a while ago”

“Except when night falls” Ash quickly countered

“That’s because we are asleep then, and none of us is talking”

“Maybe… If we don’t talk at all” the trainer said, closing his hand around Goh’s palm “Maybe we can fix this”

“It’s a nice sentiment, but I don’t think it works that way, Ash” the researcher commented, kissing his forehead

“So what? You want to give up?”

“I never said that…”

“It sounded like you did…”

“We are fighting again” Goh interrupted

Ash let out a long sigh and put his head on Goh’s chest, the researcher received him with open arms, but after a few seconds, he noticed his boyfriend was sobbing

“We can’t fix this, can we?” he said, biting his lip

“We should be able to, maybe if I stop going to school”

“You’re not giving up your studies for me, Goh, in any case, I’ll stop leaving the lab to fight other trainers”

“And now you’re giving up your dream just for me, and I can’t accept that” Goh intervened

“Well, I have to try something”

“Never that! You can’t do that!” Goh raise his voice

“You don’t need to raise your voice! I was just having an idea!”

“A stupid idea!”

Ash flinched

“I once told you the future was in our hands…” Ash remembered

“Maybe we were mistaken”

“Don’t talk like that Goh!”

“Why not? Is the truth!”

They closed their eyes at the same time, shaking their heads

“We’re fighting again…” Both boys said at unison

“Maybe we can’t fix this…” Goh admitted

“Maybe we shouldn’t even try to, if all we are gonna do is keep fighting” Ash commented

Silence felt between the two of them, until Ash Ketchum decided he couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped in front of his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his waist, softly kissing his lips

“Goh… I’m sorry… I don’t want to give up… I still believe we can have a future together… Please, tell me there’s still hope for us”

Goh made silence for a moment and put a hand on Ash’s hair, he ruffled it lovingly and stared at his eyes

“So… What do you say?” the trainer insisted

The researcher let out a tired sigh and Ash’s heart broke

However, none of them had time to say anything else, as both of their Rotomphones started to ring at the same time; Ash was being called by Leon and Goh, by Sonia

“Ash! We need your help!” the World Champion shouted “Rose is back, and he gained control of Eternatus!”

“We need you both here!” Sonia echoed “Right now!”

Ash and Goh looked at each other and nodded; whatever their decision for a future together was, it would have to wait…

**Death**

Zacian and Zamazenta were called to save the day once more, this time they managed to defeat Eternatus once and for all, and the legendary beast disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, Rose desperately hanging to it, trying to reanimate it

Leon kneeled in front of Sonia, helping her to get up; his childhood friend looked around desperately

“Is over…” Leon muttered, but she couldn’t calm down

“Leon…” she breathed out “The boys… They stepped in front of the attack before Zacian and Zamazenta appeared”

“What?”

“They were fighting over who should protect the other and they got blasted together!”

They both looked behind them, there, lying on the ground, were the bodies of Ash and Goh

“Boys!” Sonia shouted, running to them

The Champion looked around, none of his Pokemon were in conditions to move, much less of flying

“Leon!” Sonia screamed “They’re not responding!”

She swallowed hard, trying to sense a pulse, a breath, anything that could confirm to her they were still alive, she barely paid attention to the fact both of them were holding hands until the last moment

Meanwhile, Leon took out his phone, almost dropping it to the ground due to his extreme fear

“Hammerlocke emergency services?”

“I need an ambulance, right now!” Leon pleaded

Sonia started to cry when she felt one of the boys didn’t have a pulse

**Hope**

Five and a half months later, Goh was being tucked in his bed by his mother, he looked at her with pleading eyes and she understood the message

“I just called to the Hospital” she whispered sadly “They say they’re no changes in his condition, dear”

“I can’t believe the last thing I told him was that we should break apart…”

All his mother could do was hug him once again and like every other night, her son started to cry bitterly until he fell asleep on her arms, she put him down on his bed and exited the room, wiping her own tears

At four AM a sound woke up Goh suddenly, Cinderace and Sobble also reacted to it and jumped in front of their trainer, ready to defend him

Goh rubbed his eyes as soon as he started to see a blue shadowy figure in front of him, an echo of his past sounded on his mind

“Goh!... Here!”

The researcher jumped from his bed and approached the mysterious figure

“Goh… Here…” the figure repeated

“What?” the teenager questioned

The shadow flickered for an instant and Goh saw something, he knew that shape, but it couldn’t be…

“Goh!... I’m here!...”

Cinderace and Sobble looked at Goh and the teen understood they could also hear the figure

So the next thing the three of them did was exit the room and run to the door, they waited for an unending amount of time for the elevator to get to their floor, when Goh’s mom appeared at the door

“Sweetie, what are you doing?”

“I saw him” he explained, out of breath “Ash, he’s waiting for me!”

The woman denied with her head

“Goh, I called to the Hospital, like I said, they didn’t…”

“I know Ash is calling for me” her son interrupted

“How can you be so sure?”

The last thing she heard before Goh and his Pokemon got on the elevator was

“Because even if I told him we should be apart, that last day, Ash gave me something, something he always gave me”

His mother looked at him knowingly, but still, he confirmed

“Hope, until the very last moment”

Pikachu was staring at the window of his trainer’s room, patiently waiting for someone, a pained breath interrupted his watch and he looked at the hospital bed

Ash was still lying there, unmoving; however, for the first time in months, he reacted in some way: he was smiling.

Meanwhile, Lucario was kneeling in front of him, clutching to his hands, his eyes closed and a burst of blue aura emanating from his body

The Pokemon finally fell to the ground, exhausted from the effort, Pikachu looked at him with a worried expression but Lucario reassured him with a smile, pointing at the window, reminding him he should keep watching

“Pika?” the electric Pokemon questioned

Lucario nodded solemnly, whatever he was trying to do, he seemed to have succeeded…

And Pikachu understood what exactly that was when he saw Goh, Cinderace and Sobble running at full speed towards the hospital’s entrance

“Pi-Pikapi!” he announced and Lucario smiled at his trainer, letting out a soft growl, thank Arceus for Ash’s ability to communicate through Aura, he called to him, reached desperately, pleaded to help him find a connection to his beloved research fellow…

The trainer was going to wake up at some point, they both knew that, but until that moment, he needed one thing, and Goh was the only one who could provide him with it

He needed hope, for him, for Goh

For both of them…

**Author's Note:**

> Ideas or suggestions?  
> Leave them right below, or at my twitter, @vjuniorvasquez  
> See you next time!


End file.
